Ash Borer Discovered In Northeast Indiana

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(SOUTH WHITLEY) - The tree-destroying emerald ash borer has been found in two more Northeast Indiana counties.

Confirmation of the ash borer in wells and Whitley counties makes a total of 14 Indiana counties in which the beetle has turned up. Most of the affected counties are in Northeast Indiana, but the borer has been found as far west as porter county and as far south as Indianapolis.

Managing State Entomologist Phil Marshall says the addition of Whitley County raises concerns noble county could be next. There have been no ash borer problems there, but the county is now surrounded on three sides by counties which have been infested.

The state has quarantined ash trees, ash tree products, and firewood of any type except pine in the affected counties. No wood is allowed to cross the county lines.

A federal quarantine prohibits shipments of ash out of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, or the lower peninsula of Michigan.

Marshall says he believes sawmills, landscapers and other wood-related industries are complying with the quarantine, but the effects of ash borer infestation do not become apparent for one-to-three years. He says the new cases probably predate the quarantines.

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